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uninstalling an OEM virus program

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9 replies

by armando_santos

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I have an OEM virus prog where the "Uninstall" feature has gotten corrupted and I cannot use it.
If I uninstall this using the windows uninstall feature, I could mess up something else. What would be the best course of action....in the past, I havehad a lot of probs caused by uninstalling.........thank you...p.s. I still have the setup for this on a CD that came with the computer.

9 replies

by thechas

If the uninstall inf file is corrupt, add/remove in Windows will not work either.

Here are your options.

1. Re-install the software, and then re-boot and un-install it.

2. Use a program removal utility. You can find numerous utilities listed on your favorite shareware / freeware site. I think there is also a utility in Norton SystemWorks that will do the job.

3. Manually remove the program files. Clean the shortcuts off the programs and startup menus.
Use a registry clean-up utility such as Norton WinDoctor, or Meijenix FixIt to clean out the registry remnants.
You will still have a few unneeded DLL's and such in the Windows folder, but all they will be doing is taking up space.

4. The hard way! Manually remove the files from the program directory. Edit the system files and the registry to remove all references to the program.

by ann777

Another option is to go through the registry and remove all keys with that manufacturer's name in it. For instance if you have NAV (Norton's Anti-virus) then do a search in regedit for "symantec" and delete any keys you find with "symantec" within. Then search for Norton and repeat the process. After cleaning out the registry, your should be able to use Windows explorer and delete the program files (in Win98 these would be under c:\program files\symantec and c:\program files\notronantivirus).

If you are using a different manufacturer's program, the steps would be generally the same... remove from registry, remove from program files (or whatever the path) and reboot, and reinstall.

by curlergirl

I would be very careful about going in and trying to edit the registry directly unless you are very familiar with doing this sort of thing. If you are not, your best bet would be one of two options:
1. Try reinstalling the program, then reboot, then uninstall, then reboot.
2. Contact the manufacturer of the antivirus software either by calling your OEM or checking out the OEM's or antivirus software company's web site. You will probably be able to get information from them on manually uninstalling the software.

Hope this helps!

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